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Last week, the latest trailer for season 7 of Game of Thrones dropped, and the internet is absolutely buzzing with speculation as to what might be in store for viewers when the epic fantasy returns on July 16. There was a lot to take in, and there were numerous teasers on various plots within the show. But one of the main talking points was the man wielding the flaming sword. Could this be the legendary Azor Ahai of whom the red priestess Melisandre has spoken about throughout the series? If so, what does this mean?

Beware of spoilers for the TV show and the Song of Ice and Fire books below.

People just love speculating about what will happen in Game of Thrones, and now that the TV series’ storylines have passed most of the books’, everyone is on an even playing field when it comes to predictions. When fans aren’t watching the greatest TV show ever made, they are talking about it on numerous fan websites, or making videos on YouTube with their theories about what will happen. Others read more material, such as the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas written by George RR. Martin. These books are set 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and the character Egg goes on to become King Aegon V Targaryen. People who aren’t big on reading can play games, such as the Game of Thrones Telltale Series or the Game of Thrones online slot from Microgaming, which features all the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms. According to Oddschecker, when playing the game at Sky Vegas, players can deposit £10 and play with £50. In addition to all of those things, some diehard fans even dress up as the likes of Daenerys Targaryen and Jaime Lannister at events like Comic Con. You can bet your bottom dollar that all of these people watched the latest trailer and went crazy when they saw the flaming sword.

Who is Azor Ahai?

According to the followers of R’hllor, better known as the Lord of Light in the HBO series, Azor Ahai was a legendary warrior who was chosen to rid the world of darkness. The prophecies in the ancient books of Asshai from over 5000 years ago say that Azor Ahai will one day be reborn as a champion sent by R’hllor. This is said to happen when an evil, cold darkness descends upon the world. Ahai will wield the sword Lightbringer in the fight against the Others (normally referred to as White Walkers in the show), and if he fails, the whole world will fail with him. Melisandre has frequently mentioned Ahai and says that he is the “prince that was promised.” She is aware that the long night is coming, and of the threat beyond the wall. But she had previously believed that Stannis Baratheon was Ahai reborn. After Stannis was slain by Brienne of Tarth in the season 6 finale, we now know that the hardened battle tactician will not be the one to lead the race of man against the impending attack from the White Walkers. Jon Snow became the obvious choice, but then HBO set tongues wagging with the latest trailer which showed a different man wielding a flaming sword. Could that sword be Lightbringer?

Beric Dondarrion

The man wielding the sword of fire in the recent trailer is Lord Beric Dondarrion, a legendary warrior known throughout Westeros because he can’t be killed. It is noted that he has died several times, but on each occasion, the red priest Thoros of Myr brings him back to life. Dondarrion first appeared in season 1 of Game of Thrones. He was tasked by Ned Stark to track down the Mountain, who was wreaking havoc in the Riverlands. Lord Beric later appears in season 3 having been killed six times, and admits to Arya Stark that he was clinging on to the one memory he had left- Stark’s orders.

In the last season, the Lord of Blackhaven once again appeared with his Brothers without Banners, as the Hound encounters the ragtag band hanging some traitors. By this point, it seems that Dondarrion has given up on hunting the Mountain, and is instead turning his attention to the enemy rising in the north. Prior to the trailer, the last time GOT viewers saw Dondarrion it looked as though he was convincing the Hound to join his cause. As we now know from the latest clips, the two fearsome warriors do team up and head north, presumably meeting up with Jon Snow early in the season. GOT fans are already salivating about what a formidable team Snow, Dondarrion, the Hound, and Tormund Giantsbane will make, and the four warriors are shown fighting masses of the dead beyond the wall. This battle will probably occur towards the end, as HBO tends to save the blockbuster showdowns for the penultimate episode of the season.

It’s during this battle that the clip of Dondarrion’s flaming sword is shown. This wouldn’t be the first time that the battle-hardened man had set fire to his sword, however. The same thing happened during his trial by combat with the Hound in season 3, and at that time nobody had begun to think that Dondarrion could be Azor Ahai despite the fact that the prophecies state that Ahai will “draw from the fire a burning sword.”

Perhaps the main reason why most people are generally sticking with the belief that Lord Beric is not the prince that was promised is that this would be a major change from Martin’s books. In the books, Dondarrion sacrificed himself for Lady Stoneheart, who then went on to head the Brotherhood without Banners in his place. Another factor is that HBO surely wouldn’t reveal information about such a major plot twist in the trailer. Showing the flaming sword was surely a ploy to get people talking and possibly throw them off the scent of who Azor Ahai actually will be.

Who could be Azor Ahai?

So judging by the fact that Dondarrion probably isn’t Ahai reborn, who could turn out to be the prince that was promised? According to the ancient texts, the prophecy is actually gender neutral, so it could actually be the prince or princess that was promised. This would open the door for Daenerys to possibly take the mantle. But it is also noted that the prophecy doesn’t necessarily refer to one person, and Ahai could be reborn in a number of people. Daenerys’ vision in the house of the undying stated that the dragon would have three-heads. Fans are desperately hoping that this means three characters will ride the dragons, and all those could be Ahai reborn. The obvious favourites for the dragon riders are Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Tyrion Lannister. But if there’s one thing that Game of Thrones is famous for, it’s throwing a spanner in the works and shocking viewers with another revelation.

For that reason, maybe Ahai reborn isn’t one of the main characters at all. Some fan theories even suggest that the prince that was promised may be Ser Davos Seaworth. Davos picked up the flaming sword that Stannis removed from the fire way back in season 2, he was reborn in salt after the devastating Battle of the Blackwater, and he awoke a dragon from stone after speaking to Jon Snow’s seemingly dead body. It would be pretty cool if the Onion Knight turned out to be Azor Ahai, but with Davos following a widely different story arc in the books, this also seems fairly unlikely.

All things considered, Azor Ahai reborn is just one thing fans are waiting to find out among many others. We haven’t even touched on the potential showdown between Daenerys and Cersei Lannister yet, or what’s going on with Jaime. We’ll soon have all the answers when GOT returns, and there’ll surely be some sleepless nights in the lead up to that long-awaited opener.

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Was Azor Ahai Revealed in the Latest Thrones Trailer?

Last week, the latest trailer for season 7 of Game of Thrones dropped, and the internet is absolutely buzzing with speculation as to what might be in store for viewers when the epic fantasy returns on July 16. There was a lot to take in, and there were numerous teasers on various plots within the show. But one of the main talking points was the man wielding the flaming sword. Could this be the legendary Azor Ahai of whom the red priestess Melisandre has spoken about throughout the series? If so, what does this mean?

Beware of spoilers for the TV show and the Song of Ice and Fire books below.

People just love speculating about what will happen in Game of Thrones, and now that the TV series’ storylines have passed most of the books’, everyone is on an even playing field when it comes to predictions. When fans aren’t watching the greatest TV show ever made, they are talking about it on numerous fan websites, or making videos on YouTube with their theories about what will happen. Others read more material, such as the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas written by George RR. Martin. These books are set 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and the character Egg goes on to become King Aegon V Targaryen. People who aren’t big on reading can play games, such as the Game of Thrones Telltale Series or the Game of Thrones online slot from Microgaming, which features all the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms. According to Oddschecker, when playing the game at Sky Vegas, players can deposit £10 and play with £50. In addition to all of those things, some diehard fans even dress up as the likes of Daenerys Targaryen and Jaime Lannister at events like Comic Con. You can bet your bottom dollar that all of these people watched the latest trailer and went crazy when they saw the flaming sword.

Who is Azor Ahai?

According to the followers of R’hllor, better known as the Lord of Light in the HBO series, Azor Ahai was a legendary warrior who was chosen to rid the world of darkness. The prophecies in the ancient books of Asshai from over 5000 years ago say that Azor Ahai will one day be reborn as a champion sent by R’hllor. This is said to happen when an evil, cold darkness descends upon the world. Ahai will wield the sword Lightbringer in the fight against the Others (normally referred to as White Walkers in the show), and if he fails, the whole world will fail with him. Melisandre has frequently mentioned Ahai and says that he is the “prince that was promised.” She is aware that the long night is coming, and of the threat beyond the wall. But she had previously believed that Stannis Baratheon was Ahai reborn. After Stannis was slain by Brienne of Tarth in the season 6 finale, we now know that the hardened battle tactician will not be the one to lead the race of man against the impending attack from the White Walkers. Jon Snow became the obvious choice, but then HBO set tongues wagging with the latest trailer which showed a different man wielding a flaming sword. Could that sword be Lightbringer?

Beric Dondarrion

The man wielding the sword of fire in the recent trailer is Lord Beric Dondarrion, a legendary warrior known throughout Westeros because he can’t be killed. It is noted that he has died several times, but on each occasion, the red priest Thoros of Myr brings him back to life. Dondarrion first appeared in season 1 of Game of Thrones. He was tasked by Ned Stark to track down the Mountain, who was wreaking havoc in the Riverlands. Lord Beric later appears in season 3 having been killed six times, and admits to Arya Stark that he was clinging on to the one memory he had left- Stark’s orders.

In the last season, the Lord of Blackhaven once again appeared with his Brothers without Banners, as the Hound encounters the ragtag band hanging some traitors. By this point, it seems that Dondarrion has given up on hunting the Mountain, and is instead turning his attention to the enemy rising in the north. Prior to the trailer, the last time GOT viewers saw Dondarrion it looked as though he was convincing the Hound to join his cause. As we now know from the latest clips, the two fearsome warriors do team up and head north, presumably meeting up with Jon Snow early in the season. GOT fans are already salivating about what a formidable team Snow, Dondarrion, the Hound, and Tormund Giantsbane will make, and the four warriors are shown fighting masses of the dead beyond the wall. This battle will probably occur towards the end, as HBO tends to save the blockbuster showdowns for the penultimate episode of the season.

It’s during this battle that the clip of Dondarrion’s flaming sword is shown. This wouldn’t be the first time that the battle-hardened man had set fire to his sword, however. The same thing happened during his trial by combat with the Hound in season 3, and at that time nobody had begun to think that Dondarrion could be Azor Ahai despite the fact that the prophecies state that Ahai will “draw from the fire a burning sword.”

Perhaps the main reason why most people are generally sticking with the belief that Lord Beric is not the prince that was promised is that this would be a major change from Martin’s books. In the books, Dondarrion sacrificed himself for Lady Stoneheart, who then went on to head the Brotherhood without Banners in his place. Another factor is that HBO surely wouldn’t reveal information about such a major plot twist in the trailer. Showing the flaming sword was surely a ploy to get people talking and possibly throw them off the scent of who Azor Ahai actually will be.

Who could be Azor Ahai?

So judging by the fact that Dondarrion probably isn’t Ahai reborn, who could turn out to be the prince that was promised? According to the ancient texts, the prophecy is actually gender neutral, so it could actually be the prince or princess that was promised. This would open the door for Daenerys to possibly take the mantle. But it is also noted that the prophecy doesn’t necessarily refer to one person, and Ahai could be reborn in a number of people. Daenerys’ vision in the house of the undying stated that the dragon would have three-heads. Fans are desperately hoping that this means three characters will ride the dragons, and all those could be Ahai reborn. The obvious favourites for the dragon riders are Daenerys, Jon Snow, and Tyrion Lannister. But if there’s one thing that Game of Thrones is famous for, it’s throwing a spanner in the works and shocking viewers with another revelation.

For that reason, maybe Ahai reborn isn’t one of the main characters at all. Some fan theories even suggest that the prince that was promised may be Ser Davos Seaworth. Davos picked up the flaming sword that Stannis removed from the fire way back in season 2, he was reborn in salt after the devastating Battle of the Blackwater, and he awoke a dragon from stone after speaking to Jon Snow’s seemingly dead body. It would be pretty cool if the Onion Knight turned out to be Azor Ahai, but with Davos following a widely different story arc in the books, this also seems fairly unlikely.

All things considered, Azor Ahai reborn is just one thing fans are waiting to find out among many others. We haven’t even touched on the potential showdown between Daenerys and Cersei Lannister yet, or what’s going on with Jaime. We’ll soon have all the answers when GOT returns, and there’ll surely be some sleepless nights in the lead up to that long-awaited opener.